Blogging about life at a Benedictine monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota

Thursday, December 22, 2011

LOVE is spelled T-I-M-E

My niece, Sue, told me that she has a new mantra:
“Love is spelled T-I-M-E.” Think about it.

John takes time to listen to his teenage son talk about his worry over a relationship. Don goes to visit his wife who has Alzheimer’s even though it gets more difficult. Sister Sheila spends time with men and women in prison. The Cremer family makes and serves a meal at Place of Hope. Sally volunteers every week at St. Scholastica convent. Bob and Sue fly from Denver to spend time with Bob’s mother who is very ill. Nancy and her friends help her mother move to a new care facility. Sister Janet and her companions make sure our tables are beautifully decorated. Every day sisters in the monastery do the many unexpected behind-the-scenes acts of kindness.

It’s what hundreds of other people do every day, in different ways, and the time they spend is spelled L-O-V-E.

When the time was right, the Son of God became Emmanuel, God-With-Us, to teach us how to live and how to love. Jesus did that by spending time with the poorest of the poor, the lame and the blind, those on the margins of society, those most oppressed by governments and religions, those no one took time to care about or recognize as valuable.

Today and every day, God has all the time in the world for us, never leaving us to be alone, never giving up on us, never coercing us or forcing us, but always waiting for us to change and grow. God forever holds out the offer of forgiveness to us.

Think about it. Who is the person who most needs your time during this Christmas season. Who needs you to listen, forgive, comfort, tease, laugh, recognize, and share memories. Love is spelled T-I-M-E.

Sacred Heart Chapel

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This blog is maintained by a group of Sisters at Saint Benedict's Monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota. We try to post weekly and often succeed at that.
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